A common and well documented problem within the heating, ventilation, and air conditioning industry is the growth of a bacterial slime substance known as zooglea. As well known to one of ordinary skill in the art, zooglea may grow on walls of an air conditioning system's condensate drain pipes and narrow the drainage flowpath. Similarly, other debris or contaminants such as rust particles, hair, dirt, and other items may also build up in the condensate drain pipes. In time, zooglea or the other debris and contaminants can partially or fully obstruct condensate flow from the condensate drain pipes and cause condensate backup or flooding of the air conditioning system. These obstructions may occur in the air conditioning unit or downstream in the condensate drain pipes. Many solutions have been attempted, such as chemical treatments, manual cleanings, and drain line purging systems, but none have had great effect clearing obstructions along the entire condensate drain system flow path.
For example, clogs which form within the drain pan or upstream of a purging system are particularly difficult to remove using conventional drain line purging systems. Conventional drain line purging systems only push obstructions downstream of the purging system by creating a positive pressure. However, these conventional purging systems did little or nothing for clogs upstream of the purging system.